*A summary of the lecture given by Prof. Jim Al-Khalili, theoretical nuclear physicist.

**italics are my own take

The lecture kicked off with the Prof. explaining what prompted his interest in the legacy of Arab science. Born in Baghdad to a Iraqi father and English mother he was raised in the UK, and when he got older he became interested in the scientific history of his ancestors. He felt it may something he should be taking pride in, and wanted to promote knowledge of this era of scientific history which neither the West nor the Islamic/Arab east knew much about, or at least an era whose significance in modern-day science is under-appreciated.

Arab science is often viewed as merely presentational, the scientists of the age are assumed to have only translated and kept the scientific discoveries of the Greeks, then passing them on to Europe once it began its emergence from the Dark Ages. The Prof. aimed to present an argument that the Arabs did more than this, and that in fact they can be credited with the foundation of many of the theories and philosophies that drive modern day science.

The “Golden Age” of Arab science began roughly in the 9th century in Baghdad, a city built from scratch as a seat of power for the Abbassid Caliph, Harun Al-Rashid. This Golden Age was characterised by an “obsession with learning and original thinking. Haruns son, Al-Ma’mun, whose mum was a captured persian slave, took over the caliphate after his father. Like his father he had a thirst for knowledge, and claimed to have dreamt of Aristotle. He built what was known as the “house of wisdom”, or Beit Al-Hikmah, which was an academy filled with scholars and books. Today, some western historians try to play down the significance of this house by labelling it as little more than a library, when it was in fact a seat for science and rational thinking.

This interest in science and rational thought without any hint of any conflict with religion contrasts with the more modern viewpoint of some sort of clash between science and religion. 1000 years ago, Muslims took their duty to seek knowledge seriously, whereas today, a minority of Muslims now view with suspicion the advances in science. They wonder why we bother with the study of cosmology when the “Quran tells us all we need to know”.

Al-Khalili then spent the next 1/2 hour or so giving us a crash course on all the scientists of this golden age and their impact on science today. He started with Al-Kindi, a philosopher and polymath who imported and adapted Greek philosophy for the Islamic world. Then he spoke about Al-Khawarizmi, who is credited as the father of algebra, a title which he felt needed explaining since it is known that the balylonians were solving quadratic equations well before he came on the scene. Up until Al-Khawarizmi people were solving specific problems, and even though they used symbols these symbols represented real numbers, and their approach was geometrical and can be classified best as “number theory”. Al-Khawarizmi was the first to treat the symbols as free entities which can be manipulated, which through the algorithm that is used is ‘fixed’ or ‘forced’ to take a value (jabara=forced in arabic). In fact his seminal work in written entirely in prose, no mathematical symbols appear, and as such is accessable to anyone.

He then mentioned Al-Razi, the physician and founder of the modern day hospital. The of Al-Biruni, the persian polymath who provided a very clever and concise measurement of the radium of the earth. And f Ibn-Sina, the persona physician and author of the well known “Canon of Medicine”. Then of Ibn-Alnafis, the Syrian anatomist who first understood that blood must circulate via the lungs and into the heart.

Throughout the talk, Al-Khalili was careful not to over-inflate the contributions of Arab scientists. He was careful to mention that, for example, Al-Biruni was not the first to measure the circumference of the earth, he was beaten by the Greek Eratostheres in 250 BC, and that the Greek Gaelin thought the blood flowed from the right to the left chamber of the heart and that the true nature of blood circulation was figured out by William Harvey. His argument that no science springs out of the vacuum, and that people must stand on the shoulders of the giants that predated them to progress, and as the Arabs stood on Greeks, Indians, Persians and Babylonians, the West today stands on the shoulders of Arab giants.

This brings us to the question, do we call this age the Arabic revolution or the Islamic revolution? He argued that we can’t call it the ‘Islamic revolution’ because the early scientists were not all Muslim, and even though they were not all Arab, the language in which the texts were written in was Arabic. But it was not Arabic culture that prompted the revolution was it? It was Islamic philosophy, so shouldnt we pay credence to this?

He also briefly addressed the issue of the decline of science in Arabia. His reasoning for this was that there was no real answer to it. In the 14th and 15th centuries scholars such as Al-Ghazali came on the scene, he was more orthodox and criticised the early scholars and philosophers for being too pro-Greek (aka Pagan) philosophers. Added to this the Empire fragmented, the Mongols invaded (leading the loss of alot of literature), and the Ottomans took over. The Ottomans were not so much into pure science as they were into architecture (one of the Turkish members of the audience rightly argued that necessity is often the impetus for science and many engineering advances were made from the Ottoman interest in architecture). There was an overall loss of appetite for science, and no one other than Europe to carry the baton of scientific progress. I.e. the natural ebb and flow of life.

Moving on to Arabs today: the Gulf states are really in the best position to ignite another Arabian scientific revolution due to their financial resources, but up until recently they followed the science=technology=economy mentality which left little room for the pure sciences. Now things are changing, and Saudi Arabia for example is building (or has built?) a university dedicated to science for the sake of it.

Who know? Maybe we will shake of the cobwebs and become scientific revolutionaries once more? But will this require political and humanitarian stability in the regio or will it force it I wonder?

On Friday the 10th of July I attended the Islamic Circles panel discussion on “Emasculated Muslim Men and the Feminist Hijabi”. The event was introduced by the chair (whose name I did not catch) by mentioning (and slightly mistranslating) the verse from the holy Quran, which states that the men are the ‘maintainers and protectors’ of women, and that they are ‘preferred’ because of what they spent from their wealth. However, women have become victims of the worst forms of oppression:

and yet it is Muslim women who are often at the receiving end of some of the worst abuse and oppression that is taking place today.

On the other hand, he continued to say, there appears to be an increase in ’emasculated’ men, and questions whether they are now at the financial ‘mercy’ of women? I think it is funny that when a man is financially reliant on a woman he is considered at her mercy, but if she were reliant on him she is considered ‘looked after’, and in Arabic she would be moazzazi i.e. cared for. The chair has three daughters of his own, and through his own community involvement had noticed that women are the ones responsible for 80% of all the real work in these events. The Muslim men often lacked chivalry, were inactive, and he actually called them ‘useless’. So he posits, is feminism at fault? The chair was affable, likeable and had some interesting points, but I did not follow the argument from ‘men are useless’ to ‘could it be women’s fault’.

The first speaker was Sarah Malik, a (deep breath) ‘Surrendered Wife Trainer’. My first reaction to this area of expertise was ‘what are they dogs’ and half expected her to turn up in brogues with chocolate digestives stuffed down her pocket, carrying a whip. She didn’t, she was actually very sweet, but let us not be distracted away from her job description ‘surrendered wife trainer’. This seems to be an American movement, and the all knowing wikipedia lists the beliefs of the “Surrendered Wives” movement as (italics are my personal contribution):

a wife relinquishes control of her husband’s life (understandable, I would not want to be controlled).

she respects his decisions for his life (again, respect is good)

she practices good self-care; she does at least three things a day for her own enjoyment. (Happy to do that).

she also practices receiving compliments and gifts graciously. (is polite and well mannered)

she practices expressing gratitude; thanking her husband for the things he does. (see above)

a surrendered wife is not afraid to show her vulnerability and take the feminine approach. (not sure I like defining feminity as such…)

Not so bad huh? Is common sense, which made me object even more to the title ‘surrendered wife’ as it implies that women are rude and boorish and must surrender to something to give up their awful ways and become well mannered people. But again I digress, back to Sarah. She started by stating that feminism had given women many advantages, and acknowledged that 1400 years ago Islam had also given Women many rights (protection from abuse. the right to inherent etc.). Over the years, the East had picked up some Western customs, women became shunned if they got divorced, they did not receive education and so on. I admit I was confused by this, being an Arab Western influence is very recent, but Sarah Malik appeared to be of Pakistani descent, and the Indian peninsular certainly did receive alot more western influence alot earlier on ‘thanks’ to the British Empire. But I simply could have misheard! Feminism, she said, did a great job reclaiming rights for women. It gave women support, a voice, refuge, acceptance in society and the ability to choose a career.

She then started talking about the immigrant communities in the UK. When the previous generation emigrated to the UK, they faced many problems. The loss of extended family and sense of community was very stressful. Girls were encouraged to work by their mothers because according to them men were useless. This sort of upbringing resulted in highly independent, fiery women, who maybe didn’t have that much respect for men. Boys also were pushed to develop their careers, and in the process lost out on the family experience, and became rather rubbish around the home. OK, I cant to relate to any of this, and it is clearly culture focused.. I am especially not sold on the theory that mothers tell their daughters men are useless!

‘The Media’ cropped up (as it is wont to at such events), and its the negative portrayal of Muslims. This has driven Hijabis to become very focused on preserving their rights and showing the world how emancipated they are. This is something I do relate to, however due to the lack of media attention to Muslim women while I was growing up, or where I grew up, I cannot blame the media for my attitude. I think it had more to do with me growing up at a time when Arab nationalism was declining, and enlightenment on the teachings of Islam were on the rise. Since the Arab Culture is often incompatible with ones rights in Islam, I did become rather hell bent on preserving my rights as a Muslim woman. She then said that Men had complied (due to this Media pressure I guess), given women their rights, and for some unfathomable reason abandoned their duties towards women!

Sarah then declared to us that ‘Men too have rights’, aww bless them, the weaker stronger sex is having their rights stripped away! I couldn’t help that sarcastic comment there.. back on topic. Men, said Sarah, have a right to admiration, respect, and sex, in the sense that men should not be vilified and called ‘animals’ for having a sex drive ‘, fair enough I say. Men ‘have feelings too’, a statement which amused me since I actually do fall into the trap of dismissing the fact that men have feelings. However these needs are not often met by women, who in fairness were too exhausted to comply. This is due to the mother effect (there we go blaming women for the deficiencies of men 😀 ), men are often over-mothered and end up entering the marital home with scarce little life skills, which women have in abundance. The weak man then ends up shirking his responsibilities and depends on others to do his job for him e.g. his wife. She cited the example of the husbands who don’t bother to pay the electricity bill and their families end up suddenly without electricity.

We were then introduced to the phenomena of the Single White Female Single Female Feminist Hijabi who are characterised by:

Men not meeting their expectations.

Scare men off with their ‘masculine ways’ (seriously I never classed men as wimpy)

Masculine (rubbish!, never came across someone like that!)

Ends up with a submissive male

and then to the Emasculated Muslim Man who as a consequence of his dealings with the Single Female Feminist Hijabi:

looses his aspirations

looses his willingness to help

ceases to be attracted to her

Now, I am not sure what to make of this. Why is it problematic that women preserve, and fight for, their rights? Why would this result in the decreasing contribution of men to the society/marital home? Are the women preventing their husbands from doing their duty? Are they denying them their rights as husbands? I find it all a bit hard to swallow..

The next speaker was Susie Heath author of “The Essence of Womanhood- Re awakening the authentic feminine” and relationship coach with many years experience. Susie feels that there is a serious imbalance in relationships these days. Many business women came to her for help, they were quite masculine (with deep voices) and were a bit frightening, complaining that their husbands were no longer attracted to them ‘the idiots’, and the husbands would come ‘dripping in’ whining about their tough wives.

Susie believes that once a couple aim for an ‘equal’ relationship that said relationship was doomed, because we ‘are not equal, we are different’. She then apologised to the men in the audience for ‘stealing their power’, and said that we ‘had dishonoured ourselves as women’. She is grateful to the feminist movement, but does not view women as being 50% male and 50% female, and it is problematic that women try to emulate (agree) and overtake (disagree) men. That due to their taking on more and more work, and enduring more stress, women were producing more testosterone, that their bodies are not equipped to handle (aren’t they?) and hence they are wrecking their adrenal glands. But what can women do? when men don’t step up to the job, when they cease to honour their responsibilities, like keeping his family safe by say locking up at night, then women end up doing it, becoming more controlling, and compounding the emasculation of their husband. Susie recommends men step up and women take a step back. Not in an evolutionary sense or in the sense of giving anything up, but in the sense of allowing him to do something, to cease to take all the responsibilities on her shoulders.

Susie was really the only panel member to define feminine traits, describing the feminine as ‘beautiful, soft and creative’. I admit my notes are a bit disjointed, I am not sure whether this next point is related to the previous one, because she goes on to say that we have to accept that someone has to make the decisions, and if it is not the man, then it is the woman. She objected to the portrayal of too much female flesh in the media (cant escape the media), because ‘it takes away a sacred part of women’ parts that we don’t want to share with all men. I thought it was nicely put.

It isn’t all pink and fluffy though, Susie firmly believes that women are very competent, but they need to be able to feel safe with men, and only then will they feel nurtured and cared for, and she hopes for the day when cherishment and chivalry return. Her plan? Thank, acknowledge and admire men, and then they will step up (in my notes I had written: are we being held responsible for THEIR behaviour again!!!). She said that the more women do, the more they take on financially the less men have to do, and we should change this.. hey I am all for handing over financial responsibility, and totally agree with her on this point… we wouldn’t want men to feel unneeded would we 🙂

Finally, the only male member of the panel! Imam Shahnoaz Haque, a Psychotherapist, Teacher and Khatib (sort of like a preacher). The Imaam conducted a mini survey of the audience, asking people to state one property that they consider to be ‘feminine’ and one that they consider to be ‘masculine’. One lady objected saying she was uncomfortable with such classifications, and I agreed with her. But the man was driving at something, he ended up with the following (rough) list:

Then by giving examples from the life of the Prophet Mohammed, he showed that he (the Prophet -PBUH-) exhibited allthese qualities, the feminine and the masculine. I think that he was confusing the word hayaa’ with shy, but it is more closely related to the word humility. His point was that it is a mute point to discuss the ‘feminine’ traits and the ‘masculine’ traits as if they were mutually exclusive to their respective genders, because the Prophet -PBUH- was known for both.

He concluded by saying that if feminism meant standing up for rights, then all hijabis should be feminists.

Many people are aware of the fact that in Islam daughters inherit half of what their brothers get. This is often cited as evidence for the lack of equality Islam offers between men and women. The common rationlisation presented by muslims is that since in Islam men are financially responsible for women and that a womans wealth is her own, not to be shared with family unless she particularly wants to, it would be unfair not to give men a bit more either as incentive to respect their obligations or as help towards their duties.

The way I see it, is muslim arab women expect to be looked after fincancially when they get married, and is an expectation that is honored by the muslim arab men that they marry. I have never come across a case where a woman is the main bread winner of the muslim-arab family, on rare occasions they do contribute to the household finances but often they don’t. If women are not married, in theory they should expect their brothers or other male relatives to look after them, and even though this is the common case, it is not fail safe. However, if she works she can look after herself, and only herself, so again, why would she need as much as the brothers?

Another way to look at it. As far as I know british law does not oblige people to leave anything to their children or relatives, and people can leave their money to their pet. Islamic law on the other hand obliges people to leave the major chunk of their wealth to relatives, and allows them to will away a third of their finances as they wish. So, in theory a person can arrange their will so that their daughters get the same as their sons. The prescribed will is just the basic will that every muslim has, whether or not they can be bothered to write one in their lives. So in theory Islam protects th right of women to inherit better than british law does.

A worked Example:

Persons total wealth=W

Decides to leave a third to the daughter=D1=W/3

From the remaining two thirds the son gets twice the daughter: Son=2xD2, therefore the daughter gets:

D2=2W/9 and the Son gets:

Son=4W/9

In total the daughter gets:

D=D1+D2=W/3+2W/9=5W/9 which is greater than the son’s inheritance.

Using numbers for illustration:

Let W=99

then D1=33

and D2=2W/9=22

D=D1+D2=22+33=55

Son=4W/9=44

So as far as I know its up to the parent to decide whether the daughter gets more or less than the son.

Since publishing my various posts on islamic swimsuits (here, here and here) I have had about 2000 hits solely for these posts, my most popular posts of all. Most of the comments I received were from companies which manufacture such suits advertising their products, which has been absolutely fantastic! In this post I will post sample pictures from each website of the suits with a short summary of what each one offers. If anyone has tried any of them, I would like to hear from you, and I can incorporate your comments/reviews into this blog.

Burqini

“Aheda seems to design mostly for those heavily into sports” [Um Reem]

Country of Origin Australia

Description:100% polyester, 50+ UV protected, water resistant, water repellent, low water absorbency and quick to try. They come in three catergories: slim-fit, modest-fit and active-fit Images:Notes: I believe this suit is available in the UK. It costs nearly £65. Phone: 0845 052 4686. Now also available in the UK online (retails at 80 GBP) http://modestswimsuits.co.uk/Customer Reviews:

The material is great, and it is very easy to swim in. It doesn’t tend to do the blow-fish look in the water, and the pants/shirt tie together on the inside. There are only two downsides I found to the suit: (1) The headpiece which is attached to the top, tends to be too tight on my neck. Very petite types may not notice this as much as myself, though. (2) Although very functional, not very fashionable (however, the newer models are looking much more stylish). Aheda seems to design mostly for those heavily into sports, and this swimsuit definately hits the mark for those who need the headpiece to stay in place when they are competing. I went to the pool with my children today (10, 4 and 2), and wore my suit from ahiida. I must say that I even though the neck was a little tight, it was so much easier having the hood attached when my 2 little ones were grabbing away at my suit. I did’t have to fix the headpiece once!!! [Thanks to Um Reem] I bought Ahiida swimsuit ( slim fit unfortunatly) when everybody was praising burqini. And I am not pleased with it. 1) Their trousers are tight so I can’t wear them. I don’t understand how it can be called a modest swimwear if pants are tight? So I had to wear dress trousers instead of burquini’s in the pool . 2) Burquini Headpiece( hijhood) are also poorly designed, It makes my head looks ugly and slips back all the time. It is sooo frustrating that I have to wear amira hjab on it. Also hijhood has stitches that lay right on my ears which causes pain and discomfort in my ears. 3) Slim fit top a bit short, but with my splashgear pants it looks modest. [Thanks to Muslima]

Splashgear:

Country of Origin: USA

Description: based on the gear surfers wear. This product is, made of lightweight and quick-drying 83% Nylon 17% Lycra constructed with flatlock seams for comfort, fabric provides UV protection ImagesNotes : this is available in Bristol (UK) and Dubai (UAE) check website for further details. Customer Review: I reviewed this suit here, I have used it several times since and I absolutley LOVE it. A summary:

From a practical perspective, the suit was good. Swimming was easy, and I just need to get used to having something next to my skin while swimming. It did introduce extra resistance while doing the aqua exercises, and the trousers did balloon while I was standing. I think next time I will get the narrower leg trousers (I got the wide leg ones). When you exit the water the top does stick but a quick tug at the bottom loosens it immediately, this is something that was made clear by the manufacturers though. In all, if asked, I would give the suit 9/10. Marks deducted for the head piece, and 1/2 for increased resistance (if only very slight). [Thanks to Loolt] Luckily I found SPLASHGEAR website and bought swim pants from them. They are really lose and comfortable that’s what I call modest. [Thanks to Muslima]

MyCozzie

Country of Origin: United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Description:ImagesNotes: This is available in Mall of the Emirates, Dubai.

Customer Reviews: I ordered a couple from MyCozzie, and couldn’t wait to try them out. Their design is incredibly cute, and stylish, but the material is not so great. The light colors become see-through when they get wet (the white became completely transparent), and the material holds way too much water. The pant leg stretched out under my feet when I got out of the water. This company has great potential with the design, but needs to reevaluate the fabric. The one plus is that the design of the hijab is really great. It stays on while swimming much better than the design from Hasema. [Thanks to Um Reem] I bought mycozzie swimwear for my daughter and I. The customer service was absolutely outstanding and delivery time was next day. As fashion concious woman who wears the latest in fashion, I cannot fault mycozzie. It lives up to their reputation of conservative but fashionable swimwear. [Thanks to Fatima] MyCozzie rocks……!!!!!!! Theyre gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They sell them in Dubai and online. The customer service is amazing. They even delivered same day as ordering. I now have 3 suits and I mix and match the tops to the pants and hoodie it gives me so much flexibility and my kids think I look great. Off to Atlantis this weekend!!! Thankyou mycozzie x [Thanks to Jenny] I actually bought the MyCozzie suit a year ago, and decided to ‘test’ it at a women only swimming session. I was so pleased it was women only because after only one length of the pool, I had to take the trousers off, they had stretched to below my feet, making swimming difficult 😦 I dont know if other people have had this problem too. My sister has one but has only used it for water sports like kayaking and it is fine for such things. [from loolt]

AquaGym:

I did receive the suit from Primomoda, and it is not the same as the one that my friend received from AcquaGym. The cut is slightly different, and the pants are the same as the ones that AcquaGym puts with the “comfort fit” design. I preferred the fit of the suit that my friend ordered directly from Brazil. She did not have any trouble getting ahold of the guy from Acquagym, and she actually requested the “comfort fit” pants to go with the zip premium. She also ordered one of the suits that did not zip (which, by the way is nearly an exact copy of the original design by Aheda Zanetti). She really loves both, and after trying on hers, and the one I bought, I definately liked hers better. The zipper on the one I ordered was very rigid, and hit me right in the jawbone everytime I turned my head. I couldn’t stand it on my head for more than about 5 seconds. However, my friend’s suit (she and I are the same size) fit perfectly, and did not have the same zipper issue. She tried on my suit, and did not like it as well. As you can tell, I really like her suit better. I returned mine, and will probably order one from Brazil. […] On the sizing for Acuagym […]. The measurements are body measurements, and seem to be true to size based on the one that my friend orderd. [Thanks to Um Reem]

I love the color (purple with light print and trim)…it is the Comfort 105 in their lookbook. It looks very fashionable… As for the fit, the pant fits very nicely (elegant fit), the top is a bit larger and reached to my knees (I am 5′ 2″)… slightly longer than on the model…which is fine with me. The headpiece was large too, I pulled and held it with a pin at the back of my neck! In the water, the top tends to ride up (very slightly)…I think the “burqini” has inside ties…which addresses this problem. Once out of the water….the suit clings to you but a quick tug and it is released and hangs loosely. I like it so much and I enjoyed swimming (playing with my 2 yrs.old daughter!!!). It was fun and very nice to be in the water again! The looks really doesn’t matter (I was expecting it!)…I think it is curiosity more than anything else. I felt good and comfortable wearing it and was happy to participate in an activity in a way that doesn’t compromise my need for modesty and style! Ordering was a breeze…I recieved the order within 2 wks of purchase. Their customer support is great…very courteous, helpful and accomodating. The order was shiped and custom cleared in 5 days only! I definitely recommend this product. [Thanks to Um Reem]

Hasema

Country of Origin: Turkey Website: http://www.hasema.comDescription:ImagesCustomer Review: Nido has tried the first suit, and here is what she has to say about it:

I love it! It is so comfortable! easy to wear and to swim while wearng it! I used it in swimming pools and in the sea…the vest top is water resistant, and it stays loose! The 3 other parts’ material is like any other swimming suit… Can’t wait for summer time to swim outdoors This is a review for the same suir that Jeedo has Last summer I stumbled upon the Hasema swimsuit with the little dress on top. So far, this has been the best for my own use. It is cute, comfortable, and works well in the water. One thing to note, though, is that there are two versions of the suit. A 3 piece and a 4 piece. The one I like the best is the 3 piece. It is a full body suit with hijab and outer dress. What I don’t like about the 4 piece is that the top snaps at the croch, like a baby body suit, with separate pants. It does make it easier to use the toilet, but it just feels weird. Also, the hijab on the 4 piece I ordered was designed a little different, where it wraps around your neck and velcros at the back. Overall, this is a great suit if you are looking for something functional and stylish for leisurely swimming. The headpiece is not the best if you are going to be doing heavy swimming under the water, or if you have a small child that likes to grab at your hijab. [Thanks to Um Reem]

RubyZent:

I would like to give a review of Rubyz Swimwear. I ordered the Stripes, which is 4 pieces, a bodysuit top with long sleeves and skirt, comfy long pants, and a two part hijab w/ sporty cap. This is super-comfy and very practical even when diving underwater. Fabric is spandex/nylon and so it does stay close to your skin when wet! It doesn’t show any skin, because you wear the pants under the bodysuit piece, and has a zipper that goes all the way down past the waist. The hijab and suit design is very sporty looking and the fit is super comfy. The hijab can be a little tight after awhile, but it doesn’t budge in the water! I love this suit in the water, but am very self-conscious when lounging around at the beach, because the fabric fits like a regular swimsuit, which will reveal some feminine curves, but the pattern tries to conceal them.

[Thanks to UmmAmeena]

Bodykini

Country of Origin: Spain Website:http://www.bodykini.comDescription:Provides a perfectly uniform and elegant surface that enhances the beauty and style of garments, ensures maximum comfort and fit thanks to “four-way” stretch equal in all directions), aids the evaporation of body moisture and keeps the skin fresh and dry, ensures an effective anti-static effect, ensures the best aero-aqua dynamic performance in competitive sports, ensures maximum breathability, protection from UV rays (UPF+50), high chlorine resistanceImages:Customer Reviews:

[From Anna] I bought the Bodykini because I liked the sporty look. Both are nice but they are different, the Bodykini is designed and cut differently around the shoulders so it is much more comfortable to wear especially around head as the headpiece doesn’t slip around even when you dive into the water head first! I am definitely pleased that I chose the Bodykini swimsuit. PS. I did not have to pay any customs to the UK when I ordered my Bodykini and the customer service was really good [Thanks to Anna] With choosing the Bodykini my wife’s dilemma on swimwear is solved. It is important to me that she is comfortable when we are in the pool. Interesting to see that there are many different styles of modest swimwear on the market. For my wife the Bodykini was the solution. I love her very much and want to thank Bodykini again for creating a swimsuit that makes her happy.

It seems that there has been an explosion in swimwear suitable for muslim women, since my post which quickly reviewed the Australian (ahiida, approx 65 GBP, UK phone: 0845 052 4686), American (splashgearusa approx 50 GBP w/out p&p VAT custom charges (it worked out to be 100GBP with), which I review here) and turkish suits (hasema), I have come across several other companies which provide similar suits.

A brazilian company acquagym have a nice collection, and they have commented on my blog a few times:

A spanish company, Bodykini , costs about 89 euros, about 70 GBP (not sure if you would still pay customs etc. since it is delivered to the UK from an EU country, no info on their website)

It’s great to see so many options. Most of which I could see myself wearing, and which are becoming more affordable 🙂 (ahiida sell for 160GBP in the UK!!!) I am taking my beloved splashgear suit to Dubai on holiday, and shall test it out in the wide open sea.

If any visitors have tried any of these suits, please share your experiences.